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Novelist, b. near and ed. at Glasgow, and settled in business at Kingston, Jamaica, which led to his making frequent sea voyages, and thus yielded him experiences which he turned to account in two vivacious novels, Tom Cringle's Log and The Cruise of the Midge, both of which first appeared in Blackwood's Magazine, where they attained deserved popularity. They have frequently been reprinted.
I have not read Tom Cringle's Log from that day to this, and I think that I should be unwilling now to break the charm of memory, which may be largely illusion. But I remember a great deal of the plot and not a little of the language, and, while I am sure it is enchantingly spirited, I am quite as sure that the persons it describes were far from being unspotted by the world.
These matters are worth consideration, one would think; however, allons it is no business of Tom Cringle's. Speaking of telegraphing, I will relate an anecdote here, if you will wait until I mend my pen.
There were certain scenes and images in Tom Cringle's Log which made not merely a lasting impression upon my mind, but tinged my outlook upon life.
I have also consulted the brief notices in Dampier's Voyages, Wafer's Voyages, various gazetteers, and some maps and pamphlets relating to Admiral Vernon's attack in 1739-40. There is a capital description of the place as it was in its decadence, circa 1820, in Michael Scott's "Tom Cringle's Log." Chagres castle Across the isthmus Sufferings of the buccaneers Venta Cruz Old Panama
We were now comparatively safe in a few hours completely so; for, strange to say, immediately after we had weathered the rocks, the gale abated, and before morning we had a reef out of the topsails. From "Tom Cringle's Log," BY MICHAEL SCOTT Heligoland light north and by west so many leagues wind baffling weather hazy Lady Passengers on deck for the first time.
We read of some carrying as many as twenty guns, and in that sea classic, "Tom Cringle's Log," there is a story obviously founded on fact of a fight between a British sloop-of-war and a slaver that gives a vivid idea of the desperation with which the outlaws could fight. But sometimes the odds were hopeless, and the slaver could not hope to escape by force of arms or by flight.
Both of these occupations necessitated frequent journeys, by land and by sea, and the experiences gained thereby form the basis of "Tom Cringle's Log." Its authorship was attributed, among others, to Captain Marryatt, and so successfully did Scott himself conceal his identity with it that the secret was not known until after his death, which occurred at Glasgow on November 7, 1835.
There was no standing all this; the crew forward and in the waist were all on the broad grin, while the officers, after struggling to maintain their gravity until they were nearly suffocated, fairly gave in, and the whole ship echoed with the most uproarious laughter; a young villain, whether a Mid or no I could not tell, yelling out in the throng, "Hurra for Tom Cringle's Tail!"
And so saying, the excellent creature fell back in his chair, like to choke from the uproariousness of his mirth, while the tears streamed down his cheeks and washed channels in the flour, as if he had been a tattooed Mandingo. The Last of the Log. Tom Cringle's Farewell. "And whether we shall meet again, I know not." JULIUS CAESAR, Vi. 114.
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